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Our enriching experiences at BestStart East Tamaki
Matarki is the time to remember those who had passed, celebrate the present, and plan for the future. We celebrated Matariki at Best Start East Tamaki, over four weeks in June and July. We started the celebration by inviting one of our Maori Whanau to make poi with us at the centre. She brought the strings and some material needed to make poi and made a basket full of beautiful poi for our tamariki to use.
Children loved to show off the new poi while dancing on Maori waiatas every day since then. We also had a visit from a Local librarian to have mat time with our tamariki. She had a wonderful session of reading Matariki story books, singing Maori waiatas, and having fun with bubbles at the end. We had a grand celebration with all our whanau at the centre.
Our whanau and Kaiako said their Pepeha (people ordinarily stand to share a little bit about where they come from and who they are about this). Our tamariki performed on various Maori waiata and also as our Pre-schoolers were very fascinated by the waka (the Māori Canoe), they performed a play for our whanau. Further celebration was continued with the shared kai where we experienced the taste of multicultural food.
Our cook Terri made the yummiest soup and Maori fried bread to share with our whanau The children were interested in Maori myths and legends stories, maori dress, dancing to Maori songs, and have been doing a lot of artworks associated with it. Our rooms were decorated with stars, marae, korowai, koru, and Maori patterns. It was a wonderful time to connect with the community, sharing cultural values, stories, laughter, and experiences.
As we look back on this special time, we invite you to explore more about our community and the enriching experiences we offer at Beststart East Tamaki Centre. Mānawatia a Matariki!